Adventures in Babysitting
by Zana Charleson
Summary: Ilana discovers the horrors of babysitting.
1. The Beasties

**Hi! I figured I'd jump out there and write a one shot-ish Sym Bionic Titan Story. So I'm not going to take up your time on the author's note, here we go!**

Thursday 20:05

Get a call from neighbors down the street in response to baby sitting advertisement. Asking if I could baby sit their 4 children.

I accepted.

Friday 07:00

Arrive at the 'Smith' house.

Friday 07:20

Greeted by the children. Ababuo, the oldest (10)*, Bas, the first of 3 triplets (6)*, Caprice, the second of the triplets (6)*, Dax, the youngest (6)*.

Friday 07:21

Parents leave abruptly with no further instructions but to stay alive. Suspicious.

Okay, I'm done with the military type format, how do people in the military do it! Anyways, I set down a box of play-dough in front of them and said it would be great for their creative abilities and not to take it in on the carpet. They apparently didn't care about what I said and took the play-dough into the living room on the carpet and played there. Well excluding Ababuo who sat on the couch and watched a perfectly horrid movie. I think people on Earth call it a horror movie. Horror indeed. Needless to say there was a rather large orange stain in the middle of the carpet. Not that it really mattered because their carpet had so many stains you couldn't tell one from the other. I think it actually made the carpet look better. Note to self, have Octus clean the carpet before I leave. Might as well leave the carpet better than I found it. That's the Galalunian way.

I suddenly remembered a favorite toy when I was but a child, rice! I would sit in a pile of it in a box in the living room and it was just wonderfully fun. So I took out some rice and put it in a box. And set it on the floor in the kitchen. As soon as I put it down the triplets ran towards it and through the little grains of rice all over the room. I don't know quite how they did it but every inch of that kitchen was covered in white rice. It suddenly occurred to me that it might not be such a good idea to give them things that could damage or trash their house.

After the rice incident they all went and watched the last 5 horrifying minutes of the movie. They actually laughed at the blood of the man flying against the camera! It was truly horrifying. Their movie ended and they drug out some of their toys which I found were hidden under the staircase. They were not toys, they were tools of destruction in toy format.

I went to go get a broom from the garage to sweep up there pieces of broken glass after a vase broke and when I came back, I don't know how they did it, but the curtains were on fire and lets just say there was a hole in the wall that wasn't there before. As it turned out Ababuo is what the humans call a Pyro. She likes to light things on fire… a lot. I'm not so sure that Bas and Dax were not material for a professional Gyoball player. (Gyroball is very similar to Baseball except it's the Gallunian. It's played without gravity and is dramatically longer, playing until one team is 20 points ahead, then the game is ended.) Well, I'm not so sure about Caprice, she seemed to be the only normal one, sitting in the corner coloring.

The children eventually grew tired of their game of destruction and turned to me. What happened was a bit, well scary.

The Children's account of what happened.

"We did the standard package for baby sitters." Ababuo said to me when I asked what they did.

"We couldn't tie your hair to the railing because it was too short, but tying you to the banister was the next best thing." Dax said.

"I don't really know what you tried to feed us…" Bas began, running his tongue around his mouth to make the taste go away.

"It was baby food." I said quietly. "But why do you do this to baby sitters? They haven't done anything to you!"

Ababuo grabbed a ruler and slapped it on her hand. "We have had more baby sitters than you can imagine. The first few were nice but it was the same thing over and over again, so we decided to change the dials from cute and sweet to 'terrible terrors' as some described us." she paused and looked straight at me. "I will give you twenty bucks and let you go if you leave as soon as I untie you," she bargained.

"No! I can't!" I exclaimed. "I promised to baby sit you and that's what I'm here to do! As a Gallun-I mean as a gal who is needing some money…I will stay until your parents return." I forced a smile.

The children looked unconvinced.

"Well, if you decide otherwise, we'll be around…" Ababuo smirked and walked off, the triplets following suit.

I sighed trying to think of what to do. I couldn't activate my robot armor and cut the ropes, I was stuck there. I tried to wriggle out of the ropes as I saw the children heading down into the basement. I finally slipped out and ran down the stairs after them but they just seemed to vanish. Suddenly the television flickered on towards the end of a movie. A tall blond woman in a pink fluffy gown with a little wand was saying how to get back to Kansas.

"Click your heels 3 times together and think to your self 'there's no place like home.' 'There's no place like home' the girl with brown hair said over and over again. She was then in a bed surrounded by her family. The television turned off.

"That's looks like a good movie," I commented. "What movie is that?"

"Wizard of Oz," Bas said appearing form nowhere with a length of rope.

My eyes widened. "What's that rope for?"

"You escaped the first rope tying," Dax said also appearing with rope. "So, we're going to double knot it!"

I was scared out of my mind. I looked around only to find Ababuo with another rope. I was ready to scream, cry, and laugh all at the same time. Then I figured it out. I looked at the communicator on my wrist and turned it on. "Lance! Come in Lance! I need back up!" I yelled into it. The communicator lit up as he responded. "What's wrong Ilana?"

"These kids are evil!" I practically shrieked.

"AW, come on, Mutradi are evil, not kids."

"I don't care what you think! I need back up!"

The kids looked at each other with surprise. "Who are you talking to?" Ababuo asked.

"Okay, you caught me," I said thinking quickly. "I'm working with the government and I'm testing new tech for them. It's a watch that also serves to communicate with others."

The children looked at each other. "What do you think Caprice? Should we take it?" the 10-year-old asked.

"Yes," the girl said with a squeaky voice as she stepped into the light. "It could be useful in future operations. Tie her up and take the watch." the three other siblings jumped on top of me and tied me up again even tighter. Then took the communicator.

"No!" I yelled. "Wait! That's top secret!"

"Ilana?" I could hear Lance's voice from the watch. "Ilana, come in!"

So sitting in the corner next to the television, tied up and almost as scared as when the Mutradi invaded Galaluna was where I was. In fact, I was rocking back and forth in not only an effort to calm my nerves, but to loosen the rope around me. I recalled what the movie said and said quietly to myself, "There's no place like home!"

There was a loud crash. _Lance!_ I thought hopefully.

The children ran up from the basement to see what happened. I could hear Lance's voice asking questions of the children. They were answering but I knew they were lying.

I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and saw the signature 'Lance Grimace'.

"Lance! Over here!" I called. "What did you do with the children?"

"I caught them, then I tied them up," he said kneeling down and working away at the ropes.

"You caught all of them?"

"Yes, all three."

"There's four."

"…four?"

I nodded gravely. I broke free of the ropes then ran up the stairs, Lance on my heels. There tied up against the kitchen table was Ababuo, Dax and Bas.

"Where's Caprice?" I asked.

"We're not telling you," Ababuo growled.

I looked at the clock in the kitchen. "We have three hours to find Caprice without getting ourselves killed first,' I said.

Lance just stood and smiled. "You say these kids are evil?" he laughed. "The children back home are much worse!"

"Untie them then, but whatever happens it's on your hands," I retorted.

I went up the winding stares. I felt like I was in one of those horror movies Ababuo was watching. All the lights were off and it felt more like a drafty dungeon rather than a area for bed rooms. I slowly looked in each of the rooms, being careful to turn on the lights first, then looking around. Finally I found her in the only place her parents had said she could not go in, their bed room. I grabbed her and used a jump rope to tie her hands together, prisoner style. As I got down the stairs, I couldn't help but giggle. Lance had let them go and now he was the one tied up with a permanent scowl on his face.

"Well?" I asked.

"Fine, you were right. Their _evil _and they do make the Mutradi look pretty harmless."

"Any ideas on how to get them to settle down?" I asked.

"We could ask Octus…" Lance said slowly.

"On it." I said as I grabbed the communicator from Bas who was trying to dissect it.

"Octus, you there?"

"Yes Ilana, is there anything you need?"

"Do you have any idea on how to calm down children age 6-10?"

"My data bases are not coming up with much, you could try arts and crafts."

"I already tried that! They did all but destroy the house!"

"Have you tired bribes?"

"Hmmm, let's see if that works, I'll call back if it doesn't." 'I said. _I really hope this works _I thought as I walked over to try and reason with the children.

"Okay," I began. "I realize you've had a lot of baby sitters and you seem to know all their tricks-"

"We have tricks you've never seen before," Lance added. "So don't push us."

"Lance, be reasonable. Anyways we'll give you whatever we can to make you well behaved. I know you are all great kids, you just don't show it. So what do you say?"

The children looked at each other. Bas kicked a truck at me.

"I'm going to take that as a no," Lance said.

I went over to Caprice and sat down next to her. "You seem to be to head of operations," I said slowly. She gave a slight nod. "Well, what do you want?"

She thought for a moment. "A pony. A pink pony with wings. And a spy kit! Ooh! A spy kit pony!"

"A spy kit pony?" Lance asked crossing his arms. "We can't-"

"A spy kit pony it is!" I interrupted.

"Riding size?" Caprice pressed.

"Sure, but then will you be cooperative?"

"Oh, yes, yes, YES!"

I stood up and went to the door in a plan in mind. "Lance you're in charge." He followed me to the door to open it while letting out a loud whisper of, "Ilana! We can't get a pony so how are going to get a spy pony?"

"Trust me Lance, I know what I' m doing," I replied. "Be nice to Lance, he's my brother and a lot weaker than me!" I called over my shoulder before exiting the house.

I could almost imagine Lances reaction when I returned. With pony in hand.


	2. Magic Carpet

**Okay, last chapter, sorry it ended up being a 2 shot. :/ Oh, by the way, I'm not the only person who wrote this, My sister Kristina Charleston helped too, we actually equally worked on this. ****J **

I climbed off the bus and stood staring at the mass that was the mall. I headed for the entrance, walking in I looked around at the stores that spiraled up the mall. I found a directory and located all the toy stores. I found one called Toys-A-Plenty that was supposed to have every toy imaginable. I got on the escalator and went up one level, then another, then another until I reached the fourth level. The first store on the right was Toy-A-Plenty. I looked inside and my eyes widened. There were So. Many. Toys.

I walked over to a person behind the counter. "What toys do you have?" I asked still a little awestruck.

The cashier giggled. "You don't want me to go through all the toys, do you? Is there a specific toy you're looking for?"

"A spy kit pony," I replied still looking at all the toys and children looking at them.

The girl giggled again. "I don't think we have any spy ponies, but I'm sure we can find you a pony. Is there any specific color?"

"Pink?"

"Yep," she said. "We have those! Just follow me!" she headed off swerving through the clumps of children playing with little planes and stuffed animals. "What size pony?"

"One large enough for a six-year-old to sit on," I replied.

"Okey-dokey! Here we are!" she stood in front of a huge stack of three foot tall ponies that were all colors; each had a different face on it.

I just stared. I thought I had seen everything on earth and nothing else would surprise me, but I had never seen this many creatures stacked on top of each other in my life!

"Now let's see," the cashier continued. "You wanted a pink pony that a 6-year-old could sit on…" she looked at the stack and carefully pulled one out and handed it to me, it was surprisingly heavy. "Is there anything else?"

"No, not right now. I think I'm going to pay for this now," I said trying to get a good grip on the large stuffed animal.

"Great! Follow me!" she made her way back to the counter then took the giant animal from me and set it on the cash register. She took out the hand held scanner and scanned that price tag them hit some buttons on the register. "You're total comes to $58.23."

"For a stuffed animal!" I choked.

"Yep!"

I pulled some money out of my purse and counted out the amount needed.

"Have fun with your new friend!" the lady said handing the pony back to me.

"Oh, it's not for me," I attempted.

"Don't be silly, I know you bought it for yourself. I won't tell anyone," the girl winked.

"O…k…then." I walked out of the store and right across the way was a spy gear store. I made my way as quickly as I could over there and bought the cheapest kit I could find.

No matter how strange the cashier in the Toys-A-Plenty store was the cashier was even stranger there. He was wearing all black with multiple piercing all over his face and hands. His hair was black and looked a lot like Lance's except for an odd purple streak down the middle and red streaks down the back.

I grabbed my things and got on the bus as quickly as I could.

I arrived at the house to hear Lance's pleading voice to "put down that dish!" Rushing into the house I looked around to find broken dishes and other indefinable objects that were obviously broken.

"Where's Caprice?" I asked.

"Upstairs." Lance said through gritted teeth as Dax proceeded to pull on his hair. They were definitely NOT going easy on him.

I ran up the stairs looking I her room where I finally found her.

"Did you bring it?" She asked.

"Yes." I smiled as I pulled out the pink pony with spy gear.

"You found one!" She said, a bit too overly enthused. "I mean, you found one."

"Whatever, are you going to behave now?" I asked.

"I suppose we could work something out…" Looking all together too much like a evil genius, which I'm pretty sure she was. She blew a whistle as the roar of kids coming up the stairs reverberated though the halls.

Her brothers and sister were standing military style, as if waiting for instruction from the smallest member of the group.

"We have struck an agreement, and if you fear me, you will do as I say." She said in a military like format, pacing back and forth.

"If you fear me?" I thought to my self, "What kind of a sibling is that?"

"Now, you will report to your rooms where our dear sitter Ilana will do what she said about the carpet, while we will 'oh so patiently' wait for our parents arrival. Do you under stand these orders?" Caprice barked, sill pacing back and forth.

I seriously had respect for this little girl and I was beginning to wonder how in the world she ended up in the position she was in.

I called Octus over to the house to help with the cleaning as the children did as was asked of them, or rather demanded of them.

We buffed, polished, vacuumed, and basically did a full treatment for the main floor. Despite the fact that some of the stains wouldn't come it, it looked almost new. I gave Lance and Octus a high-five as if it was the sealing of the deal.

"You guys can come down." I yelled as they walked down the stairs quietly. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs the 4 looked around, amazed and startled at their almost new house.

"Like it?" I asked.

"Is this our house?" Ababuo asked.

"Yep." I said.

" I don't think I've ever seen it this clean! Even when we were moving in, we lived her while we were still decorating, just…"

"Wow." They all said.

As they stood agape as Caprice yelled her official orders.

"Look, what we have here is a miracle, we all know it, but why don't we impress our parents a little. Ilana, get a book."

I was startled at how commanding she was, I felt as if I was being forced to do her bidding, but pushed the feeling aside and went to get a book. Caprice sat on the newly found to be white couch smiling to herself, looking like a coy cat, pleased with herself after eating a canary.

As the other children left to get new clothes on (they felt dirty being in their normal clothes due to the cleaning) I went and sat next to Caprice.

"Why , er, how do you control them?"

"Simple, my best friend who practically lives here when there's not a babysitter has a mom who's a lawyer and Dad who's a cop, both parents taught her how to basically take command and enforce it. On top of that she's almost a black belt in Karate. So simply my family's scared of her and her family. I'm just loud. If Beth (I came to find out that was her friends name) found out anything happened to me, they would be in great pain."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"By the way Ilana, your pretty cool, and thanks for cleaning the house, it looks nice… but don't tell any one I said that!"

"I won't, I promise."

The rest of the 'kids' walked in the room as I pulled out a book and began to read.

Half way through I heard the doorbell ring as Lance got up to answer the door.

"Well hello young man, who are you?"

"I'm Ilana's brother, she asked me for some help watching them."

"Ahh." The Mother said as she winked. "Now would you kindly move aside so I can come in, I guarantee you the house is not _that _bad." Lance reluctantly moved aside as both Mother and Father were a gasp.

Their mother broke out crying as the Father simply said, "Wow!"

I stood up and went over to the parents.

"Here are your children," I said with a sweep of my hand, "No worse for the ware."

"Oh thank you!" The Mother said in-between tears.

"No problem, that's just the way we do it." I smiled as I motioned to Lance and I.

"Well, I don't know how you did it, but here, is 200 dollars enough?"

"For what?"

"Babysitting of course, the 100 for babysitting them for 12 hours. And the other 100 for the carpet cleaning!"

"Gee, thanks Mrs. Smith." I said as Lace and I walked out. You won't believe this but the children waved us good bye! Who knew baby sitting could be such an adventure!

**The End**


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